“Everything,” Nancy replied. “Our whole investigation is back to square one.”
11
Too Many Questions, Too Few Answers
“That’s it,” said Bess, scooping clothes up from the floor and throwing them on the gutted bed. “I’m packing my bag—if I can find it.”
“Is this it?” Nancy said, holding up a few tattered strips of canvas. Attached to one strip was a leather handle.
“Oh, no!” Bess moaned. “Do you know how much that suitcase cost me?”
“We know one thing,” Nancy said. “He had a key. The door didn’t show any signs of being forced open, and it was locked when we got here.”
“Sherbinski!” Bess said. “He has a key to every room in this hotel.”
“That’s true,” Nancy said. “But I’m beginning to doubt whether Sherbinski could have been the cab driver. I didn’t get a good look at him, but he didn’t seem as old or as heavy as Sherbinski.”
“And to jump out of the cab like that when it was going so fast, the guy would have had to be pretty swift,” George added.
“That’s right,” Nancy agreed. “Sherbinski could barely kneel down to look under a bed. And Ellingsen was shopping. That leaves us with Thornton, at least until we find out more about Ziegler.”
“We did see Thornton sneaking out of the hotel right before Denise Ellingsen got the note,” Bess said. “And it was right after our delightful cab ride.”
“The timing was right,” Nancy agreed. “Let’s go downstairs and see if the clerk at the front desk remembers who left the note.”
Back in the lobby the girls studied the face of every clerk behind the desk.
“I wish I could remember what he looked like,” Bess said. “But I wasn’t paying attention.”
“I think I remember a mustache,” George said.
“And reddish blond hair,” Nancy added. “I remember because it was the same color as mine.”
“So where is he?” Bess asked. “I see a lot of maroon jackets but no mustache.”
Nancy pointed to the front doors. “That’s because he’s not wearing his uniform.”
A man in his midthirties with reddish blond hair and a mustache entered the hotel. He was wearing a baseball cap that said Dave. Whistling to himself, he headed for a door marked Employees Only.
Nancy, Bess, and George raced up to him.
“Excuse me,” Nancy said. “But we need your help.”
Dave turned around. “Hotel business?”
“Sort of,” Nancy said.
Dave shrugged. “Well, technically I’m off duty, but I guess I can give you a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” Nancy said. “Weren’t you on duty an hour ago?”
Dave smiled. “Good memory.”
“Do you remember giving a note to an attractive black woman?” Nancy asked. “You might remember because the woman got very upset after she read it.”
Dave pulled on the brim of his baseball cap. “You know,” he said, “so many people pass through here it’s hard to remember.”
“Please try,” Nancy said. “It was only an hour ago. The woman’s name was Denise Ellingsen.”
“Ellingsen . . .” Dave stroked his mustache. “Wait, yes, I do remember. The woman was carrying a lot of shopping bags, right? And she dropped them all over the floor?”
Nancy breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s her,” she said. “Now, do you remember who left her that note? It’s very important that we find out. Someone’s life could be in danger.”
Dave smiled knowingly. “Oh, I get it. This is one of those ‘Rent-a-Mystery’ things for the convention, right?”
“It’s no joke,” Nancy said. “Please—do you remember anything about the person who left the note?”
Dave shook his head. “No,” he said, “because I never saw the person who left it. I just turned around and found it lying on the counter.”
“Oh,” said Nancy, disappointed. “Well, maybe you can answer another question. In the past few days have you had any contact with another guest at the hotel named Peter Thornton? He’s very tall and thin with sunken-in cheeks.”
“Now, him I remember,” Dave said. “He’s some Hollywood guy, right? Works for that TV star. I took his reservation over the phone. I couldn’t believe his nerve. He calls two days before the convention and expects to get the Presidential Suite. I told him ‘Mister, I don’t care who you work for, you have to call months in advance to get the Presidential Suite.’ ”
“Have you seen Peter Thornton at the hotel?” Nancy asked.
“Sure,” Dave said. “I checked him out of here just this morning.”
The girls looked at each other, their eyes wide with surprise.
